Arctic Set to Get More Rain, Less Snow

A new study has predicted that the Arctic will get more rain and less snow in the future.

Richard Bintanja, a climate researcher at the Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute combined data from 37 climate models to predict precipitation in the Arctic between 2091 and 2100.

Precipitation is projected to increase by 2 per cent for every degree the planet warms, but in the Arctic that figure will be double.

Warmer air can hold more moisture and the decreasing amount of sea ice means a smaller reflective surface meaning the sun will be able to warm the land and sea ever more quickly, and such up more moisture from the ever more exposed ocean, all meaning more rain as the cycle feeds itself.

By the end of the century the north pole will only be accessible by boat, the research predicts.